All my life, I have been around dogs, but have never met one with a better personality than my Rat Terrier shepherd mix. Every day, my Lexie does things that make me and my husband laugh out loud. She is one of the most loving and affectionate dogs that you could spend time with.
I had many considerations when I was looking for a dog and ultimately wanted to find one that would be safe around children. The dog picked me rather than the other way around as I didn’t have children myself but had many nieces and nephews.
Rat Terriers are smaller dogs and they were bred in the early 1900s to catch barn rats, however, now they mostly just serve as pets. Teddy Roosevelt, U.S President Theodore Roosevelt, is credited for giving them the name Rat Terrier because he had a small dark-colored dog that killed rats from his White House.
Lexie won’t walk on hardwood floors, so she navigates through our house running from one carpeted area to another. When Lexie has a need to walk on a hardwood floor, like grabbing her throw toy, she will slowly walk to the toy, grab it, and then back off the hardwood floor backward like a crab. It doesn’t matter how far she walks forward, Lexie always backs up towards the carpet.
When my husband and I come home at different times, we often see that our terrier gets two hellos when one of us arrives. When you first enter the house, she will usually sleep in our bed and greet you with a slow walk down the hall. She’s delighted to see you but mellow.
At the second hello, your Rattie will go crazy. She’ll run in circles and bark when you arrive, and may even jump ten feet to kiss you. You’ll feel extra special when she greets you with a second hello!
Our rat terrier is so small that we can give her a bath in the kitchen sink. When we put her in, she disapproves and looks sad. She flops when you start the process and dreads to get wet. She especially dislikes having water go up to her head and will shake to stay dry.
My rat terrier has many types animal movements. She runs like a deer, jumps like a rabbit, and pops her head up and down like a prairie dog. While she didn’t grow up in the wild observing other animals, she did live for most of her life in suburban places.
Lexie is small and weighs 11 pounds, but her personality is huge. You can play with her as you would with a 60-pound dog, but she takes up no space. She’s affectionate and won’t take up much of your lap.
For a small dog like Rat Terrier, there will be many poses. Longdog is when she stretches out and her legs are longer than her body, while the wide dog is when she lies on her side and fully extends her legs. Though we call her Rat Terrier, there is no question that this 11-pound dog can have a large impact in the form of taking up a whole bed or pushing people out of their way.
for more information: https://ratterrieradvice.com/